A Conversation with Author Gary Phillips
Gary Phillips has published various novels, comics, novellas, short stories and edited or co-edited several anthologies. Publishers Weekly said of his recent retro pulp novel Matthew Henson and the Ice Temple of Harlem, “The result is a tropey and diverting adventure, distinguished by its Jazz Age Harlem setting and unflinching depiction of 1920s race relations.”
Set in the political, artistic and cultural crucible that was the Harlem Renaissance, this novel re-imagines real life North Pole explorer Matthew Henson in the pulp tradition. With the help of his pal Bessie Coleman, America’s first black aviatrix, he contends with gangster Dutch Schultz, numbers boss Queenie St. Clair and Nikola Tesla whose Death Ray he must keep out of the clutches of a plutocrat planning a coup.
On March 10, 2021 the Arctic Museum hosted a conversation with author Gary Phillips, below is a link to our conversation: